


Shades of Red

by ChromeMist



Series: Palettes of Colors [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A little angst, Domestic Fluff, JeanMarco Week 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 04:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8357599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChromeMist/pseuds/ChromeMist
Summary: Marco's had a hard day and just wants a little relaxation time with his favorite person.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Very late submission but here's day 2. Trick/Treat. Unbeta'd but I'm happy with how it came out. Set some time after Shades of Pink, but not needed to read really. Enjoy!

**Coming home a little late. Practice tonight?** Was the text Jean received while making an early dinner for the two of them. Jean smiled as he began to finish up the simple spaghetti. After dumping in the marinara sauce and stirring it, he set it aside and put a lid on it in case their cat Mittens decided to jump onto the counter to inspect the smells. Exiting the kitchen, Jean pulled an old painted up blanket from the linen closet. If Marco was asking for a practice session, things could get messy. It also meant Marco had had a rough day at work and needed to relax. He could understand why Marco loved it when Jean practiced body painting on him. The feeling of a cold brush being run over the skin was a very soothing feeling in his book.

As Jean was laying the old sheet out on the bed, he heard the door open and close, accompanied by Mittens meowing about her day to Marco. Abandoning the sheet Jean walked back out into the hallway, meeting Marco at the door as the taller of the two was kicking his shoes off. Stretching just a little, Jean pecked his boyfriend on the lips.

“So bad day?” He questioned as he took Marco’s coat to hang up in the hall closet. His response was a long groan and a thumping noise as Marco slumped down onto the couch. Chuckling, Jean retrieved two bottles of beer from their refrigerator and handed both to Marco over the back of the couch. Thanking their open floor plan apartment, Jean inquired more about his day as he spooned the pasta onto two plates.

“It just, sometimes gets so hard some days. “Marco sighed as he sat up when Jean came around the couch and handed him a plate. “I mean, I love what I do. It’s so rewarding most of the time, and I love being there to help the kids. But sometimes…” Marco drifted off as he chewed a forkful. Jean swallowed his mouthful before replying.

“You know I’m so proud of you, right?” Marco nodded as he shoved more pasta in his mouth, “What you and the others do for these kids is really great. Think of where they’d be if not for you guys.”

“I know where they’d be. Ymir’s situation, or worse.” Ah, there it was. The trigger for the day. Jean set aside his plate and turned to Marco, putting a hand lightly on his boyfriend’s thigh and gently stroking his thumb back and forth. His cousin’s teenage years were always a bit of a sore spot, and is what had motivated Marco into becoming a counselor for LGBT+ youth. Marco and a few others ran programs at a community center for them; from one on one counseling to group therapy. It was a safe place for kids to not be judged as well as an information center for parents wanting to know more about how to help their child. But other times, people just weren’t so accepting.

“I know you can’t give me details, but I do know you would have tried your best.” Marco simply smiled and set his plate down next to Jean’s. Turning, the darker haired boy placed a hand over Jean’s, leaning in to fit his lips gently against Jean’s. Jean sighed into the kiss, bringing his free hand up to tangle in dark hair gently. Breaking off a moment later, Jean nudged his forehead against Marcos and smiled. “I’ve already put the sheet down in the bed. Why don’t you go get ready and I’ll put dinner in the fridge for later?” Marco nodded and complied, getting up and moving towards their bedroom. 

Carrying both plates back into the kitchen, he called out towards the bedroom. “What do you feel like having me paint tonight?”

“I don’t know. Surprise me!” Jean laughed as he heard the bed sheet being flicked. Moments later Mittens came sprinting out in a black and white blur and leaped onto her cat tree by the door.

“What if I trick you and draw a penis all over your back?”

“Then you don’t get a treat tonight.”

Jean perked up at the mention of treat. “Our treat bags?” He asked eagerly. A muffled ‘yeah’ flowed out from the bedroom. Giddy now with excitement Jean quickly shoved all the food in a container and practically threw it in the refrigerator. Sprinting into the room, he shut the door before Mittens could come running in after. Jean and Marco had found out some time ago that their playtime and Mittens version of playtime wasn’t something that went well together.

Jean grinned as he shed his shirt, flinging it over his face-down and half naked boyfriend while moving towards their bathroom. Grumbles came from the bed as Jean picked up a towel and a small cup of water. While he pulled out his supply of Halloween paint, Jean’s mind ran through a list of designs he’d had wanted to try on skin for awhile. Jean never liked using his best body paint when practicing as that was more expensive than cheap Halloween makeup, so he had a nice stash of the cheap stuff to use. Setting those next to the water cup on the bedside table, Jean went to retrieve Marco’s small blue drawstring treat bag,

The treat bags had been an idea Marco had come up with sometime around their second year of dating. He had been worried about the relationship becoming dull and the both of them becoming complacent. So Marco had burst into Jean’s dorm one day and produced two small drawstring bags and pitched his idea. One bag for Marco and one bag for Jean, each would put scraps of paper in their bag with things they would like the other to do for them. Things ranging from an afternoon of cuddling, to Marat honing a show the other didn’t necessarily like, to less than vanilla bedroom activities. Marco wanted them to put things in their bags that could spice up their relationship, but also act as a reward or comfort time. They had worked very well for them so far, so Jean would call that idea a success.

Marco looked over as Jean placed the blue bag on the bed and began to lower himself down. “Actually, get your bag, please?” Jean quirked an eyebrow up, pausing in his decent.

“Are you sure? You had the bad day.”

“I’m sure.“ Marco nodded. “I wanna spoil you tonight.” Jean smiled and nodded, leaning down to place a quick kiss against Marco’s lips. Marco hummed happily and put his head back down on the pillow, making himself as comfortable as he could while Jean switched out Marco’s bag for his own green one. 

Jean returned to the bed, dropping his bag near Marco’s head while settling down near his hips. He ran a hand lightly over the freckled expanse of skin, imaging all sorts of art he could put on it. His mind glossed over the clichéd galaxies and constellations; Jean had already mapped those out numerous times when they first started dating and he had wanted to practice body painting. While Jean figured out what he wanted to draw, Marco reached into the bag and pulled out a scrap of paper.

“Well, we can’t do this one tonight.” Marco said after he read it.

“What’s that?” Jean murmured as he settled on a design, already relaxing into his headspace filled with a map of lines and blends of colors. He reached for a black body paint stick as Marco threw the slip of paper on the side table. 

“Dinner and a movie. But you already made dinner, and is there anything out right now that you wanna go see?”

“Eh. A few things look ok, but nothing I can’t wait for Redbox. Though there are a few plays and some concerts coming that I wanna go see. But it’s way too late tonight for that. Pick again?” Marco nodded and dug back into the bag after giving it a shake. Pulling one out, Marco read it and then promptly threw it on the table.

“Can’t do that one either. ‘Paint your body.’ You’re already doing that too.”

“You’re having bad luck tonight with picking babe.” Marco sighed and relaxed his head back down onto the pillow, setting the bag aside. Quiet fell over the two as Jean finished his outline. He had decided on a cherry blossom branch , stretching from Marco’s left shoulder blade to his right. He felt like he still needed to practice on tree bark, even though many clients had said it looked perfect when he did it. Flowers had recently become one of his most requested tattoo. He switched out his black stick for a brown paint pot and brush and began filling in the branch. “How about this?” Jean began as he started on the detail work of the blossoms with a smaller brush and white pot. “We’ll save the pasta for our lunches, and we can order delivery and watch a bunch of movies.”

Marco huffed his response. “But that’s not a spoiling you date.”

“Buy me expensive delivery?” Marco laughed and reached for his phone.

“And by that you mean better than Domino’s pizza?”

“You know me so well!”

As Marco called and placed the order, Jean switched out the white for pink. Time passed in comfortable silence after that as Jean began to put the finishing touches on the blossoms. He opened his mouth to speak when all of a sudden there was an extremely loud clap of thunder from outside, followed by a brilliant flash of lightening and a soft pop. Both boys jumped, smearing the paint Jean had been applying. Following the pop, the apartment was plunged into darkness.

“Aw shit!” Jean cursed as he got off the bed, blindly searching for his phone. Marco turned on his flashlight option on his phone as he sat up. Jean put the brush and pot down on the table as he picked up his phone. Suddenly a cacophony of bumps, scratching, and yowling came from outside their door.

“Oh no, Mittens!” Marco said. Mittens hated thunderstorms and would go into a full on panic attack before hiding under their bed and shivering. “Go get her and stick her Thundershirt on her. I’ll find the candles and meet you in the living room.” Sighing Jean complied, throwing a tank top on and scooping up Mittens as he opened their bedroom door and she made a mad dash for under their bed.

“Was there even a forecast for a storm tonight?” Jean called out as he wrestled the grey vest on a very squirmy Mittens. If they had known it was supposed to storm, they would have put her vest on earlier in preparation.

“Not that I know of.” Marco replied as he entered their living room. He set down three large pillar candles, his laptop, a tee shirt, and a small case of DVDs. “Well, I guess you’re getting dark dinner and a movie tonight.” He chuckled as he light the candles and then threw on the tee shirt. Jean frowned, knowing Marco had just smudged everything. But better the paint get on the shirt than the couch.

“It losses all it’s romantic qualities when you have a scared shitless cat clinging to you.” He deadpanned.

“Aw, but our baby is scared. She’s justified.

Jean only ‘hmphed’ in response, settling back onto the couch. As he tried to get Mittens comfy while settling against Marco’s side, he thought to himself that despite the recent turn of events, it was a good ending to the day.


End file.
